Take Me Home
by Bex-La-Get
Summary: He was broken. Far more broken than he ever let anyone see. Until she came back into his life and showed him that he would be okay; that it would get better. Oneshot. Dramione. All rights belong to J.K. Rowling.


_**A/N: Oneshot loosely inspired by Take Me Home by Jess Glynne. Enjoy!**_

 _ **Tallyho!**_

* * *

He was broken. Far more broken than he ever let anyone see. In front of his parents, he was quiet, always lost in thought; at work, he was stern and cold; in front of his friends, he was simply moody. It was only when he was alone that his wall fell. Behind the four walls of his small flat, did he succumb to the loneliness and sadness that surrounded his heart. It didn't matter that he was considered a war hero; it didn't matter that he helped Harry Potter save the day in the War by betraying the Dark Lord; it didn't matter that he was a free man. The Mark on his arm would never fade and the shadow that hung over his head would never recede. He'd accepted that a while ago. So he went through every day mechanically, not really paying attention to anything in particular.

* * *

He hated Saturdays. Saturdays for him, were the Mondays of his week. On Fridays, he had work all day and Sundays he ate brunch with his parents, went over some files with his father, then returned home and nursed a glass of Firewhiskey while looking through the papers he had taken home with him that Friday night.

Saturdays, however, were awful. He never had any plans and was usually stuck at home doing nothing and bored out of his mind. He had too much free time with his thoughts which usually led to him being sucked into the black spiral of depression he was in. After all, silence screams the loudest.

One Saturday, Draco decided to take a walk, unable to stay in his flat any longer for fear of losing his mind. He walked and walked, not paying attention to where he was going until he stumbled into muggle London. He took a deep breath and the ghost of a smile appeared on his lips as he embraced the anonymity that being in muggle London brought. No one watching him wearily, no one clearing out of his way as he walked, no one wanting to get a good look at the Death Eater-turned-hero.

It felt good to be invisible.

The small smile still on his face, he decided to get a cup of coffee in a small cafe he spotted nearby. He placed his order with the waitress, then looked outside the window as he waited for his drink. He smiled at the sight of a little girl talking animatedly with her father as they walked down the street together, hand in hand. He watched them until they were out of sight then turned his attention to his coffee that had just been brought to his table.

He continued to stare out the window and drink his coffee, lost in thought, when a familiar voice snapped him back to reality. "Malfoy?"

He looked up to find a familiar curly haired brunette looking at him curiously. "Granger?" he asked confused. She gave him a small smile that he almost returned. Almost. "What are you doing here?" they asked at the same time.

Hermione chuckled and nodded for him to go first. He shrugged. "I was just taking a walk and wandered in."

She nodded. "I own this place," she answered. He raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Really," she smiled as she looked around in admiration. "It's not much but it's mine."

He looked around and couldn't help but admit that, despite its small size, the cafe was very cozy. "I never pictured you to be the small business type, Granger," he mused.

She shrugged and there was an awkward moment between them as he asked her to sit and she adjusted herself in the booth. "Technically, this place is my dad's but the building is in my name," she said.

He furrowed his brows. "I thought your parents were dentists."

"They are- or were. My mum's still in the business but my dad decided he'd had enough of dentistry and wanted to open up a small cafe. He got the credentials he needed and opened this place up but put my name on the lease since I'll inherit this place once he retires anyway."

He nodded. "I see. Do you enjoy it at least?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I do. It's better than a desk job, that's for sure. We've made quite the reputation for ourselves here and we do pretty well." She was silent for a minute before she cocked her head to the side slightly and began to study him. "What about you? I haven't heard much from you lately."

Draco, Hermione, and Harry made their peace with one another after Draco defected to the light and betrayed Lord Voldemort and even saved Harry's life at one point. Draco had apologized to Ron too but the redhead didn't particularly want to make peace with the former Slytherin, as he felt that forgiving him would also mean forgetting everything Draco had ever done. Hermione and Harry had tried to convince Ron otherwise, but the redhead was stubborn and refused to listen. Draco had merely shrugged and moved on with his life, not ever giving the redhead a second thought.

Hermione and Harry, however, had made a point to try to get to know the blonde. He didn't make it easy, as Draco kept his wall up all the time but he gave them enough for Harry and Hermione to trust him and see him as someone in between: not a friend nor an enemy. Just someone they knew. After the war, Draco became a bit of a recluse, not going out much unless it was the weekly lunch meeting he had with his friends.

He shrugged. "The usual. Work, dinner with my parents, home, repeat."

She furrowed her brows and looked like she was about to say something but was interrupted by a waitress. "Hermione? Your dad's on Line 1."

She nodded and gave Draco a small smile before getting up and talking to her father on the phone. The waitress topped off his coffee then left him alone; he returned to watching people out the window. It had started to rain lightly and he smiled to himself as he watched some people run from the rain while others just endured it and continued with where they were going. He wasn't sure how long he had been staring out the window but suddenly, he was jolted out of his thoughts when a plate of food was placed in front of him.

He furrowed his brows. "Granger, what is this?" he asked, observing the sandwich and chips that were on the plate in front of him.

"Lunch," she said, simply sitting down across from him with a plate of her own. "Don't worry, it's on the house," she winked.

Another ghost smirk appeared on his lips before he looked at his plate. "What specialty on your menu is this?"

She shook her head. "It's not on the menu yet. It's a new panini recipe I'm trying out but I tend to be biased with my own creations so I'm testing it out on the one person who I know won't sugarcoat their opinion."

He raised an eyebrow. "So I'm your guinea pig. Lovely. How do I know you're not going to poison me?" he joked.

She smirked. "You'll just have to find out for yourself, won't you?"

He studied her for a moment before deciding that his hunger was winning over his suspicion, and took a bite of the sandwich. "Well?" she asked. "What do you think?"

He thought for a moment. "Not half bad, Granger."

She smirked. "But?"

"What do you mean 'but?'"

"There's a 'but' in there; I can hear it. What is it?"

He paused for a moment. "Could use some more mustard."

She pursed her lips then began to look around her. He began to ask what she was looking for when she reached to the table behind them, grabbed the mustard bottle and placed it in front of him. He raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

She nodded. He rolled his eyes and added a little more mustard to the sandwich then took another bite. He took his time chewing, enjoying the impatience that was growing on her face. When he finally swallowed, she spoke. "Well?"

He pursed his lips. "Well, I'm not dead so you didn't poison me. So that's a plus. Overall, I'd say it's not bad."

She groaned and buried her face in her hands causing Draco to chuckle. "You're trying to torture me here, aren't you?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I admit, it's fun driving you crazy."

She scrunched her nose at him but dropped the subject for the time being. They sat and chat amiably while they ate. For the first time in a long time, Draco had managed to crack a full smile while talking with Hermione and found just how much happier he felt when being around her. He blamed it on her natural cheeriness.

"So, if your dad runs this place, then where is he?" Draco asked.

"Currently lying on a beach in Hawaii with my mum. They're celebrating 20 years of marriage this month so while they celebrate with sun and sand, I get stuck here with rain and" she looked down to her plate "paninis."

Draco laughed quietly. "Hey, paninis are never a bad thing."

She smirked. "No, they're not."

They continued to chat for another hour before the cafe began to close down for the day. Hermione walked him out and smiled at him as they were saying goodbye. "It was good to see you, Malfoy."

"You too, Granger."

"Don't be a stranger, okay? Come by anytime."

A small smile grew on his lips at that. "Thanks, Granger. See you around."

"See you around," she said before returning to the cafe and helping her crew finish close down for the day.

* * *

Draco would go back to the cafe the following Saturday and the Saturday after that until it became a weekly routine for him. He was quickly becoming a regular at the cafe and Hermione always smiled whenever he arrived. He had met Hermione's father a couple weeks after his first visit and quickly found that he liked the Granger patriarch. After meeting him, it was easy for Draco to see where Hermione got her quick wit.

Very quickly, Hermione and Draco were developing a friendship with his constant visits to the cafe. It was starting to develop that they would send letters to one another throughout the week, updating each other on the weekly adventures of owning a restaurant/family business until they would see each other that next Saturday.

Throughout his weekly visits, Draco began to get better. Waking up became easier, the sun was no longer a burden, he was smiling more, and he seemed all around to be happier as the days passed. When both his parents and friends mentioned it to him, he just shrugged it off and said that he just felt better. And it was true.

One afternoon when Hermione arrived home after a long day at the cafe, she was surprised to find a letter and two boxes, one large one and one smaller one, sitting on her dining room table and Draco's owl sitting on the kitchen window sill waiting for her. She opened the letter and smiled at the simple note:

 _Dinner tonight? 7pm at Samar's Bistro in Diagon Alley._

 _\- Draco._

She smiled at the note and wrote a quick acceptance note back to him, gave it to his owl and sent him on his way before turning her attention to the two boxes on her table. She opened the bigger one first and gasped at what she saw. It was a knee length gold dress with a v-neck and capped sleeves and gold sequins lining the dress in various designs. The smaller box contained a gold necklace with grey and champagne colored jewels. There was another note from Draco inside the necklace box: _To match with the dress. - DM._

Hermione looked to the clock and saw that the time was four-thirty. Quickly, she grabbed the dress and the necklace and ran upstairs to drop them off on her bed before running back downstairs to her fireplace to floo call Ginny.

"Hey love, what's up?" Ginny asked as her face appeared in the fireplace.

"I- I think I have a date with Draco Malfoy tonight," Hermione said, trying to control her smile.

"WHAT?!" Ginny asked. Hermione had told Ginny about Draco's weekly visits to her cafe and their budding friendship so it was no surprise for Ginny to hear about Hermione spending time with Draco. "When did this happen?"

"Just now!" Hermione replied. "I just got home and found a couple of boxes on my dining table with a letter from him asking me to dinner. Gin, he sent me a dress and a necklace for tonight's date!"

"WHAT?! Oh now _this_ I have to see! Hold on, I'm coming over!" Ginny replied. Less than two minutes later the redhead appeared in Hermione's living room and the two girls immediately ran upstairs to Hermione's bedroom, like two teenagers harboring a secret. Ginny gasped when she saw the dress that Draco had sent Hermione. "Oh sweet Merlin! Well, you have to admit; the guy has taste!" Hermione squealed - yes, _squealed_ \- and grinned at her best friend. "What time is dinner?" Ginny asked.

"Seven at Samar's Bistro."

"Ooh, fancy!" Ginny said, making Hermione laugh. "Alright, missy. Go take a shower! When you get out, I'm going to make you the most beautiful woman Malfoy's ever seen!"

Hermione laughed but barely had time to argue as Ginny pushed her into the bathroom. While Hermione was in the shower, Ginny rummaged through Hermione's lingerie drawer and found the appropriate undergarments to wear underneath the dress. When Hermione got out of the shower and saw what Ginny had picked out, she raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Gin?"

Ginny shrugged. "Hey, you never know what could happen after the date. You want to be prepared for any and all scenarios." The redhead laughed when Hermione blushed then ushered the girl into her underwear before getting to work on Hermione's hair. Since the dress and necklace were so elegant, Ginny decided on something simple for Hermione's hair: a french twist with some strands of hair falling around to frame Hermione's face. Afterwards, Ginny got to work on Hermione's makeup, putting just a simple amount on as Hermione didn't need much.

When her makeup was done, Hermione jumped into the dress while Ginny grabbed some nude flats for her to wear with the dress. The final touch was the necklace and Hermione was ready to go.

Ginny stood back and admired Hermione as the brunette looked at herself in the mirror. "You look gorgeous," Ginny said, smiling.

"You think so?" Hermione asked, suddenly very nervous.

"Positive. Malfoy won't know what hit him."

After grabbing her bag and checking her appearance one last time, Ginny ushered Hermione out of her house and to her date, making the brunette promise to call her afterwards and tell her everything. Hermione promised her best friend, gave her a quick hug, then apparated to Diagon Alley.

Taking a deep breath, she began to walk down the street, smiling at some of the street vendors she had become friendly with over the years. When she reached the street the Bistro was on, she became breathless as she spotted Draco. He was dressed very handsomely in dark slacks, a grey button up shirt, and a suit jacket. She took a deep breath and continued to walk towards him, smiling as she made eye contact with him. She tried to control the blush that was growing on her face as she saw the way his face light up when he saw her.

When she reached him, he took her hand in his and raised it to his lips. "You look beautiful," he said.

She blushed and smiled. "Well, lucky for me, I have a pretty amazing dresser."

He smiled a little. "I hope you didn't mind my picking it out for you. When I saw it, I just knew that it belonged to you."

She bit her lip. "It's beautiful, Draco; thank you."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Not as beautiful as the woman wearing it," he whispered in her ear. She blushed again and he held onto her hand as he led them into the restaurant.

They were seated in a back corner of the restaurant where they could have some privacy as they ate. The dinner was delicious and there was never a lull in the conversation. If there was a moment of silence, it was comfortable and never awkward. When the waiter came by and asked about dessert, Draco gave her a confused look when she declined.

"Did you not want to stay for dessert?" he asked.

She smiled. "Not necessarily. While I'm sure the dessert here is great, I know a place that has _great_ desserts."

He smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll trust your judgement."

Draco payed the bill then they left the restaurant together. As they wandered through Diagon Alley for a short while, Hermione entwined her fingers with his. Draco hid his smile by kissing the back of her hand, causing her to blush. They were aware of the various pairs of eyes watching them as they wandered through Diagon Alley but neither cared. Hermione was used to people trying to pry into her life- the price of being a war heroine- so she paid them no mind; Draco, however, was so focused on how good he felt when he was with Hermione that it didn't matter that his parents and friends would know that he had been on a date with her by the next morning. It didn't matter to him that people were whispering, trying to figure out his intentions with her; nothing mattered except the beautiful woman he was walking with.

They made their way out of Diagon Alley and into muggle London; he never once let go of her hand. They talked the entirety of the walk, distracting Draco so he didn't realize where they were walking to until they stopped in front of a small cafe; _her_ cafe.

"What are we doing here?" he asked.

"Dessert!" she said, smiling and unlocking the door. He followed her in and looked around the dark cafe as she relocked the door and turned on some lights. She grabbed his hand and led him towards the menu. "Pick whatever you want. I can make everything on the menu."

"Everything?" Draco asked, impressed. There had to have been more than twenty items on the menu; and that was just the bakery section.

"Everything," she smiled. "Go on, pick!"

He paused and scanned the menu. "What's your most popular item?" he asked.

She studied the menu for a moment before answering. "Probably our blueberry croissants."

"Alright, a blueberry croissant it is, then," he said smiling.

She returned the smile and led him into the kitchen. She flicked her wand and some music started to play through the speakers as she pulled out everything she needed. Draco took off his jacket and placed it on a hook right as Hermione threw an apron at him. He looked at it in disgust and she chuckled. "You don't have to wear it but it might get messy considering you've never done this before."

He did a double take. "Wait, what?"

"You didn't think you were getting off that easy, did you?" she laughed. "You're helping me do this."

He almost argued but decided against it, just to going with whatever she decided. "Do I have to wear the apron?" he joked.

She smiled and shook her head. He smiled and tossed the apron aside and rolled up his shirtsleeves slightly as Hermione gathered all the ingredients she would need to make the croissants. First, she showed him how to make fresh croissants then showed him what to do with the blueberries and the rest of the ingredients that she had pulled out.

While she was showing him how to make everything, she would keep him laughing by telling him stories of when she first learned to bake and cook and hold contests over who could catch more blueberries in their mouths. Draco couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so much. It felt good to be happy again; _really_ happy.

Hermione put the croissants in the oven then, with a wave of her wand, all the dishes started to magically clean themselves. She turned to Draco and chuckled quietly. "What?" he asked.

"You have flour on your nose," she said, laughing. She walked up to him and grabbed a rag off the counter to wipe the flour off of him. He chuckled as she cleaned him off and she smiled. When he was clean, she threw the rag back onto the counter before looking back at him. When their eyes met, she felt her breath catch in her throat. The way he was looking at her made her never want to look away from him, fearing she would forget the colors swirling in his eyes and the emotions that she only saw glimpses of. There were many layers to the man standing in front of her, and suddenly she wanted to unravel all of them. She wanted to know about the enigma that was Draco Malfoy; his thoughts, his hopes, his fears, his dreams, who he wanted to be.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when he cupped her face with his hand. She leaned into his touch and gave him a small smile. He returned the gesture and began to descend towards her. She stood up on her toes to meet him halfway and connected their lips in a soft kiss. He wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her close as he began to deepen the kiss and smiled when she sighed happily, wrapping her arms around his neck.

They stayed in the embrace, sharing kisses and smiles, until the croissants were ready. When Hermione pulled them out of the oven, she pursed her lips as she thought about something. "I can see those gears turning in your head;" Draco said, "what are you thinking?"

"Well, I have an idea," she said. "I'm just not sure how you'll react to it."

"Shoot," he said, smirking.

She smiled at him. "What do you say to us taking these back to my place and breaking into them there? It's far more comfortable and I have a brand new bottle of Firewhiskey that I've been meaning to break into."

He contemplated it for a moment before smiling at her and kissing her forehead. "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea."

* * *

An hour later, they were sitting on Hermione's couch laughing about the time she punched him in their third year, half empty bottle of Firewhiskey on the table next to an empty plate with nothing but crumbs left on it.

She was curled up into his side, their fingers entwined, and smiled as he told her a story about how he used to chase around the peacocks that resided on his family property as a child. He was surprised at how easy it was to open up to her but he was grateful that he had someone to talk to who listened- _really_ listened to him. It felt good to have someone who paid attention and just let him talk; he wasn't one to ramble but the more he talked to her, the easier he found it to let his walls down bit by bit. By the end of their date, he knew he could trust her. He knew he could rely on her. He knew that, with time, he could fall in love with her.

It wasn't until they realized it was close to 1am that he began to make his excuses to leave, not really wanting to go home to the empty halls of his house, but worried he might have overstayed his welcome. She walked him to the door and he pulled her into a tight embrace. They shared a kiss that left both of them breathless and when they broke, they rested their foreheads together.

"You sure you have to go?" she asked, quietly.

He smiled. "I don't _have_ to do anything; I should go, though. It's late and I'm sure you have work tomorrow."

She shook her head. "No, my mum's going to help out at the cafe so I have the day off."

"Well in that case," he smirked before kissing her passionately. Before she had time to process anything, he had her pressed up against the wall, her fingers running through his hair and his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. When they broke for air, she spoke. "Stay."

And he did.

* * *

They started dating shortly after that. With each passing day that they spent together, Draco improved: he gained some weight back, he paid more attention to his appearance, and he was more social. His parents and friends said nothing about his dating Hermione because they were just happy that Draco was finally happy again. If anything, they were thankful for the muggleborn because she seemed to bring him back to life.

That was until he had his worst night ever.

Four months into their relationship, Draco was at home reading a book when he had the worst anxiety attack of his life. He had no idea what triggered it; he just knew that it felt like the walls of his house were closing in on him and he could barely breathe. He had to get out of there. So without even really knowing what he was doing, he jumped into his fireplace and flooed to Hermione's flat.

To say she was surprised to see Draco appear in her fireplace was a surprise but quickly the surprise changed to concern as she saw the anxiety in his eyes. "Draco, what's wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head and didn't say anything before dropping to the floor, feeling like his lungs were going to burst. Recognizing the anxiety attack, Hermione dropped to her knees and took his face in her hands and rested their foreheads together. "Breathe. It's going to be okay, I promise; just take a deep breath."

He tried to follow her instructions but struggled as every breath he took was shaky. "Listen to me," she said, "I'm going to tell you to do some things that will help you get past this, okay? I need you to trust me on this; I've done it before and it works. You ready?"

He nodded and closed his eyes. "You'll need to open your eyes for the first part, love." He did so, reluctantly. "Okay, first thing I want you to do is to name five things in the room that you can see. You can say it out loud or in your head, it doesn't matter."

He swallowed and looked around the room. "Bookshelves, couch, table, telly, Hermione," he said, quietly.

She smiled and nodded before speaking again. "Good. Now I want you to name four things that you can feel."

He took a breath. "Um… my clothes, the floor, the floo powder on my fingers, and… your hands."

"Now, three things you can hear."

"The television, the rain outside, my breathing."

"Two things you can smell or like the smell of."

"The rain and you."

She smiled. "Last one: name one good thing about yourself."

He frowned and looked down. "Nothing," he said, quietly.

She placed her fingers underneath his chin and lifted his head up until he was eye level with her. "You and I both know that's not true. You're a good person, Draco."

He scoffed. "I'm serious," she said. "Sure, you made some mistakes but you were a _kid_ ; and you helped save the world during the war."

"That doesn't change the fact that I was still a Death Eater. This mark on my arm will never fade; I'll always be reminded of my failure to stand up for myself." He had rolled up his sleeve and stared at the serpent and skull that would always haunt his dreams.

He was surprised when Hermione covered the mark with her small hand. "Draco, this mark means nothing. This does not define who you are; it's just a scar of a time that's passed. You are not a bad person."

He sniffed, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "How do you know?"

"Because I know _you_ , Draco. I know your touch, your kiss, your mind; everything that I've seen, indicates that you're a good person. Your past has just clouded your judgement on that."

He nodded, unable to say anything for fear that he would break down into tears. "Now," she began, "I want you to name one good thing about yourself. It can be anything, big or small."

He thought about it for a few moments before something finally popped into his head. "I- I never killed anyone. In the war with the Death Eaters; I had been instructed to do so but I could never go through with it."

She smiled and wiped away an escaped tear. "There; that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

He gave her a weak smile, fully aware of how much calmer he felt now. "You okay?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm a little better, yeah."

She gave him a light kiss on the lips before pulling him to his feet. "Come on," she said. Holding his hand, she led him to her bedroom. "Go ahead and change. I'll make you some tea," she said, before leaving him alone. Grateful that he wouldn't have to spend the night alone, he wandered over to his drawer in her dresser that contained some clothes for him. He changed into his pajamas, then sat on the bed and began to flip through the book that Hermione had on her bedside table.

She returned to her room ten minutes later, holding two cups of tea- one for each of them. She placed hers on her bedside table and handed his to him but not before placing a soft kiss on his lips. Then, she changed for bed, herself, and curled up in bed next to him. "You want to talk about what happened tonight?" she asked.

He kissed her forehead and shook his head. "Not right now; I just kind of want to forget about it."

She nodded in understanding. "Okay; just know that if you ever do want to talk, I'm here."

He smiled. "I know, love. Thank you; for everything."

They shared another soft kiss before busying themselves with getting under the covers and curling up next to each other. After an hour, when he thought she was asleep, he began to speak. "I think it's the Mark that causes my anxiety attacks. I know that sounds ridiculous but Dark Magic does strange things to the mind. My aunt Bellatrix was a perfect example of that: even before she went to Azkaban, she was nutty. Anyway, after getting the Mark, I kept getting these terrible thoughts in my mind telling me that I could easily kill someone and not think twice about it. And that's not even the worst of them. There are things that I thought that I will never say out loud; they disturbed me to my core and I hope to never think them again…

"After the war, the thoughts stopped being disturbing and changed more into telling myself that I wasn't good enough. I woke up every morning believing that I deserved the pit of depression that I was living in. That I deserved to be miserable. There was this huge cloud over my head that seemed it would be stuck there forever. I truly felt like I could never be really happy again. I became a shell; to my friends and parents I was just stern and moody and to my employees, I was just very serious. When I was alone, though, I was just stuck in this deep hole with no way out.

"I was so lost for so long, Hermione… And then, by sheer chance, I walk into your cafe and catch up with you and suddenly, there's light. It wasn't much, but it was just this little sliver of light that reappeared in my life. The more time we spent together, the brighter this light became until the night of our first date. Gods, when I saw you in that dress, I thought I was going to go blind from how bright that light was.

"That's when I realized just how important you are to me. Slowly, you've made it better. Just by listening to me and being there for me has made this huge difference in my life in just a short amount of time. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, I still have my moments when I feel like my world is going to fall apart; but then you just sat there and walked me through my attack and never let go. You never walked away. You're the first person to ever really convince me that it was going to be okay. That at the end of the day, _I_ would still be okay.

"I didn't realize it until tonight but, I love you, Hermione. You've changed my life in a matter of months and I'm so grateful. I admit, I'm going to have bad nights but I'm going to do everything I can to be the right man for you. I just hope that I can be good enough."

"You already are," Hermione said, turning around to face him.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked.

"The whole time," she smiled. "I know you're going to have bad nights, Draco; we all do. No one can come out of a war and walk away completely unscarred. Both of us will struggle but together, we can work through it. We'll be strong together."

He smiled at her and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. When they broke for air, she rested her forehead against his. "Oh, and Draco," she said, "I love you too."

* * *

 **Five Years Later**

Draco was working in the kitchen, preoccupied with editing a new muffin recipe Hermione wanted to sell at the cafe, when he heard the front door open. He looked up just in time to see his three-year-old daughter, Emily, enter the kitchen and run right into his arms. "Daddy, guess what I did today!"

"What did you do, pumpkin?" he asked, picking her up.

"I learned to make a doughnut!" she exclaimed.

"You did? What kind?"

"Chocolate!"

Draco chuckled. "Excellent choice. Who taught you? Mum or Grandpa?"

"Grandpa! He let me eat it too!"

"Was it good?"

"It was yummy! Grandpa tried to give me another but mummy stopped him," she pouted.

"And with good reason," Hermione said, walking into the room. "If I had let him, you would have spoiled your dinner."

"No! I would have just eaten less of it!" she argued.

Draco and Hermione laughed. "Whatever you say, angel. Why don't you go color for a little bit while Daddy and I get dinner ready. Don't forget, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny are coming over tonight with the kids."

"Yay! I can finally show Albus my new dragon!" Emily exclaimed. Draco gave his daughter a quick kiss before putting her down and chuckled as she ran out of the room.

He then smiled at his wife and gave her a kiss. "How was work?"

She shrugged. "Fine. Dad nearly broke the coffee machine again but other than that it was pretty uneventful. Oh, your mum stopped by, though."

"Uh oh," Draco said. "What did she want?"

She shook her head. "Nothing much; she just stopped by to drop off some more recipes and to ensure that we were going to brunch on Sunday."

He chuckled. "Like she'd ever let us miss it."

Hermione nodded and laughed in agreement. Together they made dinner then enjoyed a night full of laughs with the Potters while their children played together in the backyard. Hermione smiled as she watched her husband chase Emily and Albus around the backyard; they had come a long way from where they had started.

Draco still had times when his anxiety attacks would hit him but they were far less common these days and far less severe. He had learned to control them better by himself but it was always easier to calm down when Hermione was there. Hermione had her moments too but, with Draco's help, she managed to keep her anxiety under control as well.

As they cuddled in bed later that night, Draco smiled, proud of how far he had come.

Five years ago, he had been broken. Far more than he ever let anyone see. Until she came back into his life and showed him that it would be okay; that it would get better. With her, he found what it meant to be happy again. With her, he found peace.

* * *

 _ **P.S. Please forgive any mistakes that I might have made in regards to anxiety/depression. I tried to do as much research as I could but it's entirely possible mistakes were still made. If they were, I apologize.**_

 _ **Hermione's dress and necklace are on the oneshot board on Pinterest.**_

 _ **Please review!**_


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